


The last letter

by ArcticSwan



Series: Years of marriage. [7]
Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: Final Letter, Nora Carter - Freeform, Not a Deathfic, The Letter, the last letter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-06
Updated: 2021-02-06
Packaged: 2021-03-17 23:28:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29233800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArcticSwan/pseuds/ArcticSwan
Summary: Metal writes his last letter to Nora.
Relationships: Scott Carter (SEAL Team TV)/Original Female Character(s)
Series: Years of marriage. [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2136093
Comments: 4
Kudos: 21





	The last letter

_My dearest, Nora._

_This is the one letter I hope never finds it way to your hands. You know, THE LETTER. You wouldn’t believe how many first drafts I wrote for this one. Or the previous ones which has been outdated by years passing and kids growing._

_I’m not going to tell you anything new. I like to think that there’s nothing left unsaid between the two of us. I haven’t always been the perfect husband you deserve, but I’ve tried to show the love I have for you every chance I got.  
That being said, I still have a few things I need to remind you of with this final letter.   
No matter how much I write here, it’ll never be enough. So I’ll stick to the basics. _

_I love you. Since the very first time I saw you, that has never changed. I’ll always love you.  
I’m proud of you. You’re the toughest, strongest woman I’ve ever known, and with the kids we have, that’s necessary, I’ll take the blame for that. The wild hair and recklessness comes from me, but I know you’ll master everything, like you’ve always done.  
The kids, I love them as well. Being their father, and your husband, has been my life’s greatest joy. Please make sure they never doubt that, even now that I’m gone. _

_Eva, she’s strong like you. But she’ll need someone to hug her for a while. Make sure she knows it’s perfectly fine to not be okay for a while. Put on one of those chick-flicks and have a quiet evening where you talk with the movie playing in the background. Or take a car ride in the dark, with no specific destination. She always found it easiest to talk like that. She’s a fantastic young woman, and I’m so proud of her for getting into the school she wanted to attend all along. Never doubted she’d make it._

_Jenny… Jen will probably be angry. Not at you, but at me and the universe, and you’re the one left to receive that anger. I’m sorry. However -this- happened, just know… I tried to make it back to you all. If Trent or Clay are still around (I hope I was the only one to go), let them take her for a workout or twenty. She’s a lot like me. The young and unchanneled me, anyway… I’m still curious what life holds for her. I’ll be watching from ‘up here’… (And yeah… I know I don’t believe in that stuff. At least until hope is the only thing left. And I hope I’ll be able to keep an eye on all of you.)_

_Chris will either dive down into his interests, or close off completely. I hope he does the first. If he needs help and you don’t know how, or have the energy for it, ask Bobby or Mike, your brothers are great with him. Like that time I almost didn’t make it back home. Word of advice, try to get him to focus on sports instead of service. (And don’t call me a hypocrite, I just want my kids to stay safe.) Every chance you get, remind him that I’m proud of him. He’ll need it._

_Lila, she’s going to be something great when she grows up. Just wait and see. But for now, surviving middle school will be the most important task. I hope she’ll still have her best friends, Tommy and Rebecca, to take care of her when things get hard to process. And don’t scold her for being creative, even if it turns into a broken arm or a dent in the door of the car. It happens, just look at who you married._

_And my sweet little Aimee. Well, not so little anymore… I’m sorry I won’t be there to watch her become the great woman she’ll turn into in a few years, and to scare away the boys who don’t deserve her. (Actually, that goes for all of my girls.)_

_I don’t know why I keep writing these instructions in all of these letters I’ve written so far. I know you are more than skilled enough to take care of them on your own. You’ve done that on every deployment I’ve been on since Eva was born.  
I wrote each of the kids a letter as well, but I think you should decide if they’re ready for it when you’re standing with this one. I hid them behind the fake vent in the garage._

_Again, I love all of you. I have loved every single moment with you, and I wouldn’t have traded a second for anything else._

_I’ve got two wishes right now.  
The first one I won’t be able to do anything about, but I would like those ‘five more minutes’ and one last hug. Guess this letter is those five minutes, huh?  
And know I’ll try to sneak in on it every time you hug our kids.   
Hey, by the way… Hug our kids for me, alright? Often. You need it, they need it. I need it as well. _

_And the second wish…  
I’ve mentioned this before, and you really didn’t want to hear about it.   
But I’m gone now. There is no ‘coming back’.  
When you figure out you might be ready for it, go for another rodeo… Try to find some guy who will treat you right and grow old with you. Someone who will take care of you and the kids. I hope some guy can be just as lucky as I was. _

_Love you. Now and forever.  
-Scott_

He sniffed and wiped away the wet trails running down his cheeks. He folded the letter and placed it into an envelope he had already written ‘Eleanor’ on, then he sealed it. The next morning he would place it in his cage at work, right where all the letters before it had laid. Right where Blackburn and Lisa knew where to find it if the worst happened.

He’d hug them all a little tighter tonight. Nora, Eva, Jen, Chris, Lila and Aimee. He knew that there could come a day, where he had no more hugs left to give. He wanted to sneak as many as possible in before that.


End file.
